The North West’s favourite horror event Scare City has returned to the abandoned Camelot site in Lancashire just in time for autumn, and promises more blood, scares, and gore than ever before.
Hailed as it "the ultimate Halloween season spectacular", the event takes place in the shadows of a derelict theme park in Chorley, Lancashire and creeks into action this weekend with ten horrifying zones, including four indoor mazes where hordes of live actors reside to scare the living daylights out of you, alongside some horrifyingly realistic sets.
This year I had the privilege to go down and have a sneak peek at the Scare City 2023 experience for myself, and it was terrifying to say the least.
READ MORE: Haunted steam train to make its way to Greater Manchester in time for Halloween
READ MORE: Victoria Baths to host spooky silent disco just in time for Halloween
Returning to the grounds of Camelot felt like an eerie trip down memory lane. I frequently visited the theme park as a child and have always been curious about how the area looks now after years of the site being left empty and desolate.
The Scare City team have done a great job of capturing the creepiness of the abandoned, with spooky music from horror films, such as Friday the 13th and Halloween, echoing around the site as we queued up to try out each of the event's zones. And while very little of the former theme park remains from its heyday, it transformation is a truly frightening experience.
As we arrived at the front of the queue, we began talking to a group who had taken part last year. They unknowingly lulled us into a false sense of security after admitting that they thought that the event was only mildly scary - which we soon discovered to be a lie.
We made our way to the first zone of the night titled ‘The Slaughterhouse’. Limbs hung from the ceiling as cannibal butchers roamed the rooms with hatchets and leather faces made from the skin of their victims.
Whilst creeping through the gory sights of the house, I noticed a woman’s face watching me from a corner of the room that stopped me dead in my tracks. I tried pointing her out to my group before she scurried away on all fours, only to return moments later as strobe lights and smoke disoriented our sense of direction.
The next zone, ‘Carnivalley’, was a circus-themed area playing off of the common phobia of scary clowns. Personally, I don’t find clowns all that frightening, so I confidently strolled in leading my group through the dark rooms.
Despite my confidence I was still left in terror as the ‘Moregrave Brothers’, the owners of the carnival, and their companions, jumped out from pitch-black corners and false mirrors at every opportunity.
‘Hellevate’ was next up on our Scare City path. Described on the website as an area inhabited by an occult that dabbled in human sacrifices, I was intrigued to find out more. I instantly got Midsommer vibes as a friendly ‘hippy' walked us over to the woods whilst he attempted to persuade us to join his ‘family’.
Upon entering the area we were met with a plethora of terrifying characters - nuns, ghosts, animal hybrids and everything in-between. Definitely not the type of family I would be willing to join any time soon. We quickly got out of there.
Despite most of Camelot’s old attractions being long gone, the former castle building still stands and had been transformed into a ‘prison’. Sadly to our dismay, prisoners on the night had escaped and were running riot inside. It was our job to sort the mess out - according to a prison officer who forced us into the building.
This was the set up for the next zone titled the ‘fortress’, which was arguably the least scariest area of the event. Thin corridors and flickering lights certainly set the scene, but the outfits of the actors weren’t as unsettling as the rest of the experience.
The zone was great regardless thanks to its storyline that had been clearly well thought out by the Scare City team.
We were definitely in need of a break at this point, and thankfully up next was the ‘resurrection zone’, where we were able to grab a bite to eat and a much needed alcoholic drink. The food and service was excellent, and entertainment was provided in the area by fire wielding dancers and performers.
The horrors of the night were far from over though, as we trailed onto the next zone - ‘The Infirmary’. Easily the most terrifying zone of them all, undead nurses and patients stalked us in dimly lit and blood stained hospital wards. I often found myself backed into corners and separated from my group as the actors followed and blocked me from my path.
When I eventually caught up with the rest of the group, I screamed at them to get out as quickly as possible whilst being chased by a psychotic patient who was dressed in the most harrowing outfit I’d seen on the night - bravo.
The intensity of the experience sustained as we reached ‘The Junkyard’. A supposed burial ground for the victims of fictional serial killer ‘Eddie Kent’.
Industrial debris and rusting cars blocked our way whilst a group of maniacs chased us through winding roads. My blood was rushing and I couldn’t wait to get out on the other side in one piece.
Then the heavens had opened and rain poured down on us in buckets. Thankfully, I came prepared, but I couldn’t say the same for the rest of my group. Due to this we seemed to rush through the next zone at pace, which only made it all the more terrifying.
Labeled as the ‘Shadows’, we found ourselves running through a dark and misty wooded area littered with a coven of witches and other foul beasts. As stated, at this point we were in a hurry which of course gave the actors the courage to sprint after us.
The most horrifying ordeal of the Shadow zone was a moment when a giant human rabbit mutant separated us up and began charging at each of us in rapid succession. If only it had stayed dry.
We were coming to the end of our experience at this point, but not before a few more heart attacks. ‘The Abyss’ was next up on our list - a pitch black shipping container designed to test your fears of the dark.
Toward the end of the event we’d come up with a few tactics to keep us from losing our sanity, and so for this zone we decided to link arms to help guide one another through the dark rooms. This however didn’t stop us from screaming in fear as creatures jumped out at us from the void and blocked our path to the cargo’s exit.
Our final challenge of the evening was the ‘Decontamination’ zone. In order for us to escape the doomed Camelot site, we were ordered by the military to decontaminate ourselves from a deadly virus by sitting in booths on our own and running through a zombie infested field.
The key to survival was determined through a ‘red light green light’ system. If the field was lit up green you were free to run to the exit, but if the field turned red then you had to stop in your tracks as the zombies would awaken and sniff out anyone caught moving.
This was an extremely fun way to end the night, and elevated the event to round off an amazing experience. Whilst I must admit that I was frightened to my core, I can also confidently say that Scare City is a must-visit attraction for anyone looking for a truly terrifying night.
I just hope that I don’t have any nightmares of freakishly tall human bunnies anytime soon.
Scare City kicks off September 29 and will run until the middle of November. Tickets are £25 each or £35 for fast track.
